Obituary of Ruth Cullen

Ruth G. Cullen, 95, of Cocoa Beach, died peacefully on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, after a lengthy illness. Born in Woburn, MA, she was the daughter of the late Mary (Curran) and Garrett Cullen Sr. Ruth was educated at St. Charles Parochial School, Woburn, for 12 years. She then attended St Elizabeth’s Nursing School, Brighton, MA, graduating in 1949. Her first ten years of nursing were spent in various hospitals along the east coast, mostly in the Miami area. She returned to Massachusetts and spent the next 30 years employed by Mass General Hospital. Upon retiring in 1990, she immediately began her “volunteering career” in both Massachusetts and Florida. Ruth was particularly fond of doing respite care for the elderly, as well as voluntary work for Meals on Wheels and BirthRight.

Surviving Ruth are her sisters Margaret O’Brien and Elizabeth Cullen, both of Cocoa Beach, and 19 nieces and nephews and their extended families. She was predeceased by her brother Garrett Cullen, Jr., (Kay), and four sisters: Mary A. Cullen, Rose Manson (Bob), Audrey Muise (Martin), C. Carolyn Griffin (Gerard), plus two nephews, Garrett Cullen III, and James O’Brien.

Ruth’s family are truly grateful to Dr. Gary Dana and his Health First Hospice team. Each and every one of them provided Ruth with professional yet kind and loving care.

A funeral mass and burial will be celebrated at Church of Our Saviour, Cocoa Beach, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ruth’s name to: St Vincent de Paul Society, 130 Cleveland Ave, Unit C, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931; or Hospice of Health First, 1131 W. New Haven Ave, Suite 102, West Melbourne, FL 32904.